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Contributor I
May 9, 2017
Answered

Large kitchen/living room - mapped out thoughts - what would you change?

Total noob here.
Rough draft blueprint:



There's three sweet spots in my living room (green 😵.
Was thinking of positioning the two Play:5s and four Play:1s as shown.
Tried to get 3.0 in each of the sweet spots.

Curious what you guys think, and what if anything you'd change?

BIG thank you!
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    gdsrwq421Answer
    Contributor I
    May 9, 2017
    We do already have exist 5.1 in Family room.
    Four ceiling spkrs (light purple circles) and a Definitive soundbar (purple rectangle) in top right corner all connected to a 10 yr old JVC receiver:



    Just want make it as easy to use for 70 yr old parents.
    Original thinking keep Sonos vs home theatre separate so no need to fidget with receiver - simpler to use.
    Maybe I'm wrong - would love your suggest.

    Thx!

    27 replies

    Stuart_W
    World-Class Superstar
    May 9, 2017
    Assuming that the music you will be listening to has been mixed in stereo, and the vast majority is. You will get the best listening enjoyment, as the artist intended, by listening using a stereo pair - that could be Play 5s, Play 3s or Play 1s.

    I don't really know how your set-up would sound but you would have to set each speaker as a "Room" and then group them. They would play in perfect synchronisation but there would be no stereo image and I think the overall effect would be disappointing.

    I would be advising you to determine where you would be for "serious" music listening and ensure that you provide the best audio for that area - probably a stereo pair of Play5s. For areas where the listening will be more causal - say the kitchen area probably a Play 1 or possibly stereo pair of Play 1s which you could then group to the Play 5s as desired.

    Also. There's nothing stopping you growing organically rather than buying all those Plays at once - Don't forget Sonos run a very good return policy so you can effectively try and then return if they don't do what you want
    Arc + Sub (Gen 1) + 2 x Play 1/ Stereo Play 3s/ Era 100 Stereo in Kitchen, One Stereo in Bedroom, Play 1 stereo pair in Study, Play 1in Bathroom, Sonos Move 2
    May 9, 2017
    I think you have far too many speakers here. I would just use a 5 pair on the right hand side, assuming that is the living room and you will sit facing the speakers on the 15 ft wall. If facing to the top, I would put the 5 pair there and nothing in the bottom right corner.

    Assuming the left side to be the kitchen - where is the dining area? - I would put either one 5 or one 1 such that it is aimed to that listening area, maybe even along the wall on the left. Maybe start with one 1, and add another to make a pair if the need for that is felt.

    See how that works, and then add more speakers only if felt necessary. Play the paired speakers in stereo mode, and group the pair and the other single unit/pair when music is needed over the entire space.
    May 9, 2017
    Depends rather where your furniture and listening positions are, but the previous replies are good advice, IMHO
    Prominent Collaborator I
    May 9, 2017
    I would start with 6ea play1 and go from there. Add in pairs as you feel there are gaps in sound coverage. This way you can play part of or all of the room as you need. The play 1 is on sale right now. - Kris 🙂
    Prominent Collaborator I
    May 9, 2017

    May 9, 2017
    The original drawing makes good sense if you are thinking of the 5s mainly as bass reinforcement but the fact that they are full range will mess up the stereo image and not create the sweet spots as intended. Consider placing 4 Play1s along the top wall in the drawing plus a sub someplace near the center of that wall. This will give you your 3 stereo points (Middle image reversed) plus enough low end for the whole room.
    Local music library with carefully constructed playlists - no shuffling!, Integration with Homeseer Automation, No touch screen devices, No streaming services, No Apple products ever
    Prominent Collaborator I
    May 9, 2017
    Mike is right and I forgot about a sub.
    gdsrwq421Author
    Contributor I
    May 9, 2017
    Thought I might if lucky get one reply.
    Shocked - in the best way possible - that you guys gave me so much support.
    Huge THANK YOU - totally made my day.

    Read, re-read all suggest.
    Revised map incorporating them with some add'l info:



    Added green heads showing most likely directional facing.
    Don't think I have good place for subs. But if really much better, can maybe find somewhere.
    Hoping can get away with no sub, but still get moderate bass - maybe Play 5s vs 1s wherever you suggest?
    Some of you suggested less spkrs. Given facing direction - if any, which you'd remove?

    Thank you!
    gdsrwq421Author
    Contributor I
    May 9, 2017
    To more easily refer to each spkr, I added position #s in red (1-8):



    Thank you!
    gdsrwq421AuthorAnswer
    Contributor I
    May 9, 2017
    We do already have exist 5.1 in Family room.
    Four ceiling spkrs (light purple circles) and a Definitive soundbar (purple rectangle) in top right corner all connected to a 10 yr old JVC receiver:



    Just want make it as easy to use for 70 yr old parents.
    Original thinking keep Sonos vs home theatre separate so no need to fidget with receiver - simpler to use.
    Maybe I'm wrong - would love your suggest.

    Thx!